Cattle Market Pulse

Wilkes Livestock Exchange Market Report

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, February 16, 2022

155 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Wilkes Livestock Exchange report →

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 155 108 83
Feeder cattle 120 73 58
Slaughter cattle 35 35 25

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows were 2.00 to 4.00 higher, while slaughter bulls were 1.00 to 2.00 lower. There were too few comparable feeder cattle to establish an adequate market comparison, however a higher undertone was noted for steers and heifers, while a lower undertone was noted for feeder bulls. Demand was mostly moderate, good for value added and fancy cattle; market activity and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were mostly moderate. Cattle quality was mostly average.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–310 305 2 173.00–174.00 $173.49 $529 +3.49
310 value added 310 1 200.00 $200.00 $620 —
354 value added 354 4 183.00 $183.00 $648 —
356–380 367 5 165.00–174.00 $169.91 $624 —
421 value added 421 7 187.50 $187.50 $789 —
470 fancy 470 1 179.00 $179.00 $841 —
500 500 1 168.00 $168.00 $840 —
950 950 2 129.50 $129.50 $1,230 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210–245 228 2 148.00–152.00 $150.15 $342 —
260–275 268 2 142.00–148.00 $145.08 $389 —
350 350 1 148.00 $148.00 $518 —
487 value added 487 3 160.00 $160.00 $779 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 128.00 $128.00 $442 +4.00
365–380 375 3 132.00–135.00 $134.03 $503 +14.03
450 450 3 135.00 $135.00 $608 —
780 780 1 95.00 $95.00 $741 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 107.00 $107.00 $374 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–380 368 2 154.00–158.00 $156.07 $574 —
400–420 415 4 150.00–155.00 $153.80 $638 +6.48
478–480 479 6 139.00–148.00 $143.51 $687 +1.80
515–540 525 3 130.00–138.00 $134.67 $707 —
605 605 1 124.00 $124.00 $750 —
685 685 1 121.00 $121.00 $829 —
735 735 1 118.00 $118.00 $867 —
760 760 2 110.00 $110.00 $836 —
1043 value added 1043 2 111.00 $111.00 $1,158 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 140.00 $140.00 $462 —
350–355 352 3 140.00–143.00 $141.99 $500 +14.99
440 440 1 132.00 $132.00 $581 —
480 480 1 135.00 $135.00 $648 +3.00
530 530 1 129.00 $129.00 $684 —
560 560 2 121.00 $121.00 $678 —
685 685 1 114.00 $114.00 $781 —
735 735 1 90.00 $90.00 $662 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 124.00 $124.00 $384 —
350–395 375 3 116.00–123.00 $119.81 $449 —
435 435 1 108.00 $108.00 $470 -6.44
545 545 1 116.00 $116.00 $632 —
825 thin fleshed 825 1 69.00 $69.00 $569 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 100.00 $100.00 $240 —
365–375 370 2 103.00–110.00 $106.45 $394 —
375 thin fleshed 375 1 64.00 $64.00 $240 -4.00
515 thin fleshed 515 1 34.00 $34.00 $175 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
890 890 1 98.00 $98.00 $872 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 fancy 425 1 182.00 $182.00 $774 —
455–485 fancy 470 2 176.00 $176.00 $827 —
515 value added 515 2 166.00 $166.00 $855 —
505–535 520 2 143.00–144.00 $143.51 $746 -16.49
550 550 2 149.00–159.00 $154.00 $847 —
635 635 1 131.00 $131.00 $832 -13.00
700–747 735 5 133.00–137.00 $134.16 $986 —
790 790 1 121.00 $121.00 $956 —
920 920 1 94.00 $94.00 $865 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 1 112.00 $112.00 $549 -10.00
550 550 1 110.00 $110.00 $605 -12.00
655 thin fleshed 655 1 73.00 $73.00 $478 —
685 685 1 108.00 $108.00 $740 —
795 795 1 88.00 $88.00 $700 -2.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405 405 1 102.00 $102.00 $413 —
480 480 1 95.00 $95.00 $456 —
495 thin fleshed 495 1 56.00 $56.00 $277 —
495 495 1 80.00 $80.00 $396 —
515 thin fleshed 515 1 40.00 $40.00 $206 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 1 128.00 $128.00 $531 -12.99
535 535 1 123.00 $123.00 $658 -13.00
550 550 1 134.00 $134.00 $737 -2.98
635 635 1 120.00 $120.00 $762 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1010–1215 1105 80-85% 3 67.00–73.00 $70.84 $783 —
1160–1295 1224 80-85% 6 76.00–80.00 $78.04 $955 —
1240–1390 1315 80-85% 2 56.00–60.00 $57.89 $761 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1305–1420 1365 75-80% 3 70.00–73.50 $71.46 $975 —
1355–1575 1442 75-80% 6 78.00–83.00 $80.72 $1,164 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
740 740 85-90% 1 40.00 $40.00 $296 -5.00
795 795 85-90% 1 66.00 $66.00 $525 —
835–915 875 85-90% 2 54.00–55.00 $54.48 $477 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1360–1945 1653 2 92.00–94.00 $93.18 $1,540 —
1885–2050 1968 2 113.50–114.00 $113.76 $2,239 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
585 thin fleshed 585 1 50.00 $50.00 $292 —
590 590 1 92.00 $92.00 $543 —

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Reading this report

What does "Medium and Large 1" mean?

USDA feeder grades describe frame size and muscle thickness, not quality of the individual animal. "Medium and Large" is the frame score; the number is muscle (1 = heaviest muscled). "Medium and Large 1–2" pens mix both muscle scores — common across the Southeast.

What is $/cwt?

Dollars per hundredweight — per 100 lb of animal. A 500-lb calf at $450/cwt brings 5 × $450 = $2,250. Lighter cattle usually bring more per cwt but less per head.

Why are some prices per head?

Bred cows, cow-calf pairs, and some replacement classes sell by the head, not by weight. We show those exactly as USDA reports them — a $/head figure is never converted into $/cwt on this site.

Where do these numbers come from?

From the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's Livestock Market News — federal reporters at the sale. We publish each report in full and link the official USDA document at the top of the page.